Kristi Noem is threatening to deploy ICE at the 2026 Super Bowl following the Bad Bunny half-time announcement. Here’s how Americans feel.
Kristi Noem is threatening to deploy ICE at the 2026 Super Bowl following the Bad Bunny half-time announcement. Here’s how Americans feel.
Kristi Noem (ICE Barbie) is now threatening to deploy ICE at the 2026 Super Bowl following a Bad Bunny concert announcement.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is ramping up the rhetoric on immigration enforcement, boasting that ICE agents will swarm Super Bowl 2026 in Santa Clara, California, ensuring only “law-abiding American citizens” attend.
The threat, delivered in a fiery interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, comes just days after the NFL announced Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny as the halftime performer—a booking that’s sparked outrage among MAGA circles who see it as a deliberate troll against the Trump administration’s border policies.
Noem didn’t hold back during Friday’s chat, framing the Super Bowl as ground zero for her department’s crackdown.
“We’ll be all over that place,” she declared, emphasizing, “We are going to enforce the law. You shouldn’t be coming to the Super Bowl unless you are a law-abiding American citizen.”
When pressed on the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny, Noem went on a rambling tirade: “[The NFL] suck[s] and we’ll win and God will bless us and we’ll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day and they won’t be able to sleep at night.”
The chilling comment has left both democrats and republicans questioning the administration’s picks in leadership, with users on both sides stating, “the most dangerous mindset is one where you think God is only on your side and is only protecting your interests.”
Another user shared a similar view, stating, “We should secure our borders from illegal immigrants and criminals no doubt! But this, this is beginning to look like an attack on non-whites! Caucasian male here married into a Hispanic family and they aren’t scared of what is happening. Just DISAPPOINTED with what is being tolerated in OUR country.”
The comments come amid an LA Times and UC Berkely IGS poll that paints a picture of how Americans in California feel about immigration policies that intrude in daily life activities.
47% of Republicans disagreed with the statement that “ICE agents should expand immigration enforcement into schools, hospitals, parks and other public locations.”
A July 2025 Gallup poll also found that 59% of Republicans support a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.
This means nearly half of Republicans do not want ICE interference in daily lives, and more than half of Republicans support illegal immigrants the right to a path to citizenship.
Noem’s comments echo a preview from Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, who told Johnson on Wednesday, “There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else.”
A DHS spokesperson reinforced the stance, stating, “There is no safe haven for violent criminal illegal aliens in the United States.”
Bad Bunny’s selection, revealed during halftime of a Sunday Night Football game on September 28, 2025, has been somewhat of a lightning rod.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper, a U.S. citizen, had previously voiced fears about ICE raids at his concerts, telling i-D magazine on September 10, “F—ing ICE could be outside [my concert].”
Despite those concerns, he celebrated the gig in a press release: “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me… Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL,” translating to “Go and tell your grandmother that we will be the Super Bowl halftime show.”
MAGA influencers wasted no time piling on.
Megyn Kelly blasted the NFL on Tuesday as delivering “a middle finger to MAGA and conservatives,” despite not all conservatives aligning with Kelly’s views.
Meanwhile, Jack Posobiec suggested a rival event featuring Creed as a protest.
The backlash ties into broader tensions, with Noem’s vow amplifying Trump’s aggressive deportation push amid ongoing protests and sanctuary city clashes.
Noem, often dubbed “ICE Barbie” by critics for her unyielding stance, has faced her share of scrutiny, but this Super Bowl saber-rattling feels like peak provocation.
As one X user put it, “It’s getting harder to take our political leaders seriously. Not everything has to be politicized. Especially culture, incredible music, and just good times.”
One conservative account stated, “UGH so TIRED of all this propaganda. It’s a f***ing game for God’s sake. Let’s just enjoy it and leave politics out of this…Stop giving this attention, this is NOT AMERICA.”
As the event approaches on February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium, it could turn the spectacle into a flashpoint for immigration debates—complete with agents patrolling the stands.
Will the event put up with it? Will the people? Here’s what Hawk’s Podcasts has to say.
Also Read: AG Pam Bondi Escalates Repression with Ruthless Federal Assault on ICE Protests
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